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Warchild
| number = 7 | author = Esther Friesner | published = | format = paperback | pages = 272 | date = 2370 | ISBN = ISBN 0671881167 | altcover = warchild German cover.jpg }} Warchild is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel by Esther Friesner. It was published in July 1994, the 7th book in Pocket Books' series of numbered DS9 novels. Description A message left behind by the Kai Opaka gives Commander Benjamin Sisko a fateful mission: Find a young Bajoran girl destined to be a great healer who could bring together the warring factions of Bajor. While Lt. Dax tries to find the healer, Dr. Bashir goes planetside to treat a rare disease that is killing the children in Bajor's resettlement camps. Surrounded by thousands of dying children, Bashir goes A.W.O.L. from Deep Space Nine, vowing not to return until the plague has been stopped. But by the time Dax finds the girl from the Kai's prophecy the child has fallen victim to the plague. Now, with the fate of the entire planet at stake, Commander Sisko must find Dr. Bashir in time to save the child who may be Bajor's last chance for peace.... Summary ; Ensign is piloting a runabout to Deep Space 9. Onboard the runabout are two Bajorans, a monk and a vedek. The long silence is broken when the monk replies to the vedek, saying he has come to DS9 because of the dying children. ; The monk from the runabout, Taren Gis, comes to Commander Sisko's office. There, Taren tells Sisko about a sickness that is spreading through the refugee camps on Bajor. One village, Lacroya, is already dead. Sisko agrees to send medical aid, but refuses to send Dr. Bashir on the grounds that if there were an emergency aboard the station, they would need Bashir there. ; The vedek from the runabout, Torin of the Na-melis Order, takes Commander Sisko to the station's temple, to discuss something secret. There he produces a scroll containing a prophecy written by Kai Opaka. The prophecy states that a child destined to become a great healer will be found in the village of Bennikar. However, Bennikar was destroyed in the Occupation of Bajor, after the Kai wrote the prophecy. Vedek Torin tells Sisko that the child must be presented to the Dessin-ka (at the Temple on Bajor), who believe the child is a sword-bearer rather than a healer, at the time of Berajin, leaving only a few weeks to find the child. ; When Commander Sisko leaves the station's temple, he sees Brother Gis at the entrance. At first, Sisko suspects the monk of eavesdropping, however, he informs Sisko that Vedek Torin told him of the prophecy aboard the runabout. Sisko decides to send both Lt. Dax and Dr. Bashir to the refugee camp to find a cure for the disease. However, Sisko tells Brother Gis in confidence that Dax's true mission will be to find the child from the prophecy. Sisko later briefs both Bashir and Dax about the epidemic; when he dismisses Bashir he asks Dax to stay, which heightens Bashir's curiosity. ; Chief O'Brien and Ensign McCormick are working to fix the transporters aboard a runabout. When they are finished, McCormick takes the ''Ganges'' into orbit above the Pride of Mintak on Bajor and tests the transporter, trying to beam Ensign Goodman out of a crowded area. In addition, there are plenty of inanimate objects to test, such as bottles of kis. It is discovered that the transporters work fine, but the sensors cannot maintain a lock, so the coordinates of the subject must be read to the transporter chief. Goodman then reads off his coordinates and beams onto the Ganges. When the Ganges returns to DS9, a drunken Goodman and a case of kis are brought off the runabout. Dr. Bashir, Ensign Kahrimanis, Lt. Dax, and Brother Taren Gis then board the Ganges, now piloted by Trulli. ; Dr. Bashir leaves his tent in the refugee camp and goes to the "infirmary", nothing more than an old granary or storehouse. There he finds a Bajoran woman nursing her baby, who won't feed. He then burps the baby to relieve its stomach pain. Bashir tells the mother to take her baby out of the infirmary, because that is where the strongest population of fever patients is located. Brother Gis then introduces Bashir to Belem, his new assistant. Bashir and Belem go to the building with the supplies from DS9 and begin to unpack. Bashir then tells Belem to take some blood samples of the patients. Before taking the samples, Belem tells Bashir that he lost his family name when he and his brothers left their farm. ; Dax, Bashir, and Kahrimanis share a communal meal with the monks in the square. Soon, Bashir and Brother Talissin get into a heated argument, and both storm off in opposite directions. Two days later, Dax enters the laboratory shack to find Bashir concentrating on a sample in the microscanner. Bashir informs Dax that he believes he has isolated the organism responsible for the fever. Dax then tells Bashir to get some sleep and pushes him out of the lab. She then begins working on an antibody. Despite being told to get some rest, Bashir goes to the infirmary and helps out by giving the patients sponge baths. While washing a girl's face, Bashir falls to the ground, unconscious. ; Bashir awakes to find two children patting him with a damp warm cloth. He learns that the boy is Talis Cedra, and the girl is his sister, Talis Dejana. He also finds out that Dejana managed to recover from the fever on her own. Cedra soon becomes Bashir's new assistant. Dax then develops a vaccine for the fever, and injects the fever victims. While administering the injections, Dax discretely tries to discover information about children from Bennikar. One of the men she injects is Mullibok, who became a farmer in the camp, and is now very content with his new life. After administering the injections, Dax goes to the infirmary to see how Bashir's doing. There, she tries to coax some more information out of the patients. She is then approached by Cedra and is introduced to Dejana, who reveals that they are from Bennikar. ; In Brother Gis's office, Dax reports to Sisko, via communicator, that she believes Talis Dejana to be the Nekor. Sisko tells her that since the fever has been cured they can prepare to leave soon. Kahrimanis then informs Bashir that they will be leaving soon, but Bashir is reluctant to leave because there are other camps, and hill fighters, in the Kaladrys Valley that may be infected with the fever. Since Bashir never received a direct order to depart, he takes some supplies and leaves for the other camps. Before Bashir leaves the camp, Cedra finds out what he is up to and gives him some food, water, and a map of the valley. Some ways from the camp, Cedra catches up with Bashir and gives him a to ride. While riding, Bashir feels the shoulder strap of the portable replicator working its way under his communicator, but chooses to ignore it. Sometime later, Dax and Kahrimanis are following Bashir's trail, but lose it when the ground turns to solid rock. Dax tries to raise Bashir on her communicator but receives no response. Kahrimanis hears something nearby, a faint echoing sound. Both go to investigate and find Bashir's combadge. ; Major Kira and Vedek Torin arrive in the camp via runabout. They head for the infirmary to see the Nekor. At the entrance to the infirmary, they find Brother Talissin lying on the ground bleeding from a head wound. As Dax attends to Talissin, Kira makes her way into the infirmary. Cedra then drops from the rafters and tells Kira that Dejana was taken. Cedra then runs through the camp with Kira in tow until they reach a small lean-to hut. Cedra tells Kira that he saw Remis Jobar kidnapped Dejana and Kahrimanis, and then followed them to the hut. Kira decides to try to talk Jobar into letting the hostages go. Jobar tells Kira that he is going to use Dejana to get his land back. He is very angry with the government for forgetting about the people in the camps. As Jobar moves out of the hut, a phaser beam, from the direction where Kira left Cedra, strikes him. A Bajoran man named Kejan Ulli steps into sight and presents himself as a representative of the Dessin-ka. Cedra then runs into the hut to untie Dejana and Kahrimanis, and emerges with his sister riding on his back. Kahrimanis then attends to the stunned Jobar. Kira does not trust Kejan so she calls Munson and has herself, Cedra, and Dejana beamed aboard the runabout. ; Back aboard DS9, Sisko briefs the senior officers about the situation with the Nekor. Sisko puts Odo in charge of Dejana's safety. Bashir still has not been located so Sisko tells O'Brien to give the station's malfunctioning sensors top priority. Sisko decides to let Cedra stay in his quarters, but for the moment Dejana will stay in the infirmary. Jake and Nog then meet Cedra at the Replimat, where Nog insults Dejana causing Cedra to pin him to the ground. Nog apologizes and Cedra tells him to buy some food for them. Soon, the three are having a (stolen) picnic in a holosuite, where Cedra learns about holotechnology. The three decide to have some fun by reprogramming the holographic systems throughout the station. Shortly after, they are questioned by Odo, but Odo agrees to let them go if Cedra helps O'Brien repair the altered holograms. Later, Jake arrives at his quarters to find Cedra lying in bed. Jake gives Cedra some pajamas and tells him to change, but Cedra decides he is no longer tired and wants to eat. ; After curing another camp of the fever, Dr. Bashir stops riding and sets up camp. He is awoken by a Bajoran man, Borilak Selinn, who was searching for the healer. Borilak then leads Bashir to a cave. Back aboard DS9, Kejan Ulli greets Commander Sisko in the replimat. Ulli becomes upset upon finding out Dejana is in the infirmary. After speaking with Dejana, Ulli tells Sisko that Dejana must be brought to the Temple on the eve of Nis Thamar in four days, despite Berajin being about a week away. Ulli tells Sisko that the Dessin-ka consider Berajin to start on the eve of Nis Thamar. Meanwhile, Nog tells Quark that he has found out why Dejana is so important. Later, Commander Sisko is a awoken when Odo, Kira, and Kejan Ulli burst into his quarters where Ulli tells Sisko that the Nekor has been kidnapped. ; In Ops, the crew are trying to scan for Dejana, but have no success. Kejan Ulli enters Ops and questions Sisko about how this could happen. Sisko tells him that Ensign Tolland, the one guarding Dejana, was attacked from behind. Later, Odo questions Quark about the kidnapping, but gets no useful information. While Kira is eating, Vedek Torin approaches her and gives her flimsy that he found in the temple. It is an invitation to place a bid on the girl. When she reports to Sisko, he tells her that a dozen other Bajoran political and religious groups have been approached in the same way. Sisko and Kira then go to question Garak, who actually received a similar note, but it is addressed to Commander Sisko as a representative of the Federation. Odo then decides to examine Quark's handcomps to see if they printed the notes. Quark informs him that the notes were printed with a handcomp so old and cheap that no self-respecting Ferengi would use them. Sisko, Odo, Kira, and Quark then go to the Replimat to confront Vung. Vung denies having anything to do with kidnapping. However, when Cedra arrives, he grabs Vung and pulls his face close. Cedra then releases Vung and tells the others to follow. Cedra leads them to an unused runabout repair station. In the corner he finds Dejana, who was rendered invisible by a personal cloaking device, which later self destructs. Cedra says he found her by her scent. Later, in the station's temple, Kejan Ulli becomes aggravated with Sisko for not allowing him to see Dejana. Vedek Torin promises him that no other Bajoran sect will be allowed to see the girl. Ulli reluctantly agrees. Later, a distraught Cedra approaches Sisko and tells him that Dejana is dying. ; Dr. Bashir is taking care of fever patients, particularly Belem (whose body resists the cure), in the caves. Borilak Selinn's daughter, Borilak Jalika, begins to assist Bashir in caring for Belem. Meanwhile, aboard DS9, Dejana is becoming worse. It seems her cold was actually the first stage of a disease that Dax has no cure for. Back on Bajor, Bashir and Jalika collect herbs to use in conjunction with Bashir's technology to treat Belem. Bashir and Jalika then reveal their feelings for each other. On DS9, O'Brien has managed to repair the station's sensors, and will be able to scan for Bashir. When McCormick tries to beam Bashir onto the , it is discovered that the sensor relay and the transporter won't work at the same time. This means that the runabout can lock onto Bashirs life-sign, but when the transporter is initiated, the signal slips. So if Bashir were to move at the time of the transport, he either wouldn't be transported, or only part of him would be. By the time it will take to correct the problem, Dejana will be dead. Cedra then tells everybody not to worry because Bashir is coming back. Back in the caves, Belem takes his last breath and dies. ; Jalika leads Bashir to a natural balcony overlooking a large cavern. From the balcony, Borilak Selinn begins to tell the gathering crowd of how Bashir saved their lives. Meanwhile, Odo, Kira, and Cedra are making their way to the caves. At a clearing, Odo applies makeup to Cedra to make him look like a fever victim. The plan is to have Cedra enter the caves and be taken to Dr. Bashir. There he will place a combadge on Bashir and both will be beamed away. Back in the cave, Selinn's speech has changed directions, he now accuses Bashir of murdering Belem. The crowd seems to be persuaded by Selinn's accusations. Jalika then defends Bashir, but is interrupted when a man carrying a sick child comes into the cavern. Selinn tells the man to bring the child to the balcony so that Jalika can care for him. Jalika then uses Selinn's own argument against him saying that he obviously trusts Bashir's inoculation to protect her from the fever. Bashir approaches the child, but the child moves his arm and reveals himself to be Cedra. Cedra then slaps the combadge onto Bashir and both are beamed away. ; Sisko congratulates Cedra on his plan working perfectly. They speak to each other about Dejana and Bashir. Later, Cedra visits Bashir and tells him he needs to face his ghosts. Cedra then grabs Bashir, causing him to have a vision in which he must let Jalika die in order to save the children. Bashir later wakes up and goes back to work. Later, Dax comes to the infirmary where Bashir shows her the organism that is causing Dejana's sickness and that killed Belem. Bashir says he intends to stay aboard the station. He then tells Dax to have Major Kira go to Bajor and collect samples from the people who recovered on their own, so that they can produce an antibody. Later, Kira takes Cedra to the station's temple, so that he can calm down. There he speaks to an old monk. The monk's words cause Cedra to become upset, and Cedra tells the monk that he hates him and leaves the temple. ; While the crew is waiting for Bashir's cure to work on Dejana, Kejan Ulli comes to the infirmary. There, he reveals to the crew that he is a member of a group known as The Circle. Cedra tells everyone that he is actually the Nekor, even though the prophecy says the Nekor must be a girl. Cedra jumps on a biobed and tells Bashir to take the readings. Bashir then informs the others that Cedra is actually a girl. Dejana then reveals Cedra's real name to be Cedara. ; At the Temple on Bajor, Cedara is presented to the various religious and political groups as the Nekor. When the Dessin-ka group approaches her, she whispers something to the leader that causes him to drop to his knees. She then tells him not to worship her and he agrees. Later, she speaks to Commander Sisko, and it is discovered that Cedara secured the Dessin-ka's loyalty to the provisional government. Later, at the Replimat, Commander Sisko, Jake, Nog, and Cedara are having a farewell party. Dr. Bashir approaches and tells them some good news: the disease will not spread to non-Bajorans. Cedara then tells the others of her choice to become a healer. ; Bashir and Vedek Torin discuss Cedara's future while walking the grounds of the Temple. Torin brings Cedara out and shows her the Kai's prophecy. It is revealed that the gold border traceries on the scroll are actually words hidden in plain sight. The words state the time for the prophecies fulfillment has not yet come, but that there is the need for a healer who can stop the warring factions of Bajor. Cedara is not the true Nekor, but must let the quarreling factions believe she is so that they can unite in her name. Later, Bashir meets Jalika in the Temple's garden. She has decided to become a healer, and Bashir realizes, to his chagrin, that she will no longer have room for him in her life. She states that she made her choice only for herself, and that she and Bashir had to go back to what they know they must be. References Characters :Julian Bashir • Belem • Borilak Jalika • Borilak Selinn • Jadzia Dax • Elim Garak • Goodman • Kahrimanis • Kejan Ulli • Kira Nerys • McCormick • Merab Jis • Mor • Mullibok • • Nog • Keiko O'Brien • Miles O'Brien • Odo • Quark • Remis Jobar • Benjamin Sisko • Jake Sisko • Talissin • Talis Cedara • Talis Dejana • Taren Gis • • Tossi • Trulli • Vung Calin • Cheshire cat • Guerette • Jin • Kova Dilvan • Lika • Narel • Molly O'Brien • Opaka Sulan • Remis Cathlys • Rhakh-tem • Rom • • Tolland Locations :Bajor (Bennikar • Jabelon • Kaladrys Valley • Lacroya) • Deep Space 9 (Operations center • Promenade • Quark's • Replimat) Dublin • Earth • Invaria II • Pride of Mintak • Starships and vehicles : ( ) • ( ) • ( ) • (Klingon starship) Races and cultures :Bajoran • Cardassian • Changeling • Cygnetan • Ferengi • Human • Trill Klingon • Romulan • Vulcan States and organizations :Alliance for Global Unity • Bajoran Militia • Dessin-ka • Na-melis Order • Starfleet • United Federation of Planets Science and technology :cloaking device • combadge • communicator • holosuite • malnutrition • nanadekh • postganglionic nerve • preganglionic fiber • replicator • satai • sensor • starship • time • transporter Ranks and titles :commander • criminal • doctor • ensign • kai • lieutenant • monk • vedek Other references :Alice in Wonderland • Bajoran prophecy • Bajoran religion • Berajin • Casey at the Bat • cheli • Cinderella • fairy tale • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition • gragol • guinea pig • hasva • hyurin • Islam • jeskla • ''kata''-bunny • katterpod • kis • Klingon Women and Romulan Ale • latinum • Nekor • Nis Thamar • Occupation of Bajor • planet • Romulan ale • Taxman's Delights • The Valiant Little Tailor • tokka • Appendices Related media * Sisko recalls meeting the the monk in "Emissary". * This novel includes Mullibok from " ". * The Revanche party also plays a part in the novel Valhalla. Background * Friesner's idea for Warchild came from the notion of exploring the plight of people in the aftermath of a war, especially those who had become displaced persons. (Voyages of Imagination) * An excerpt of Warchild appears in Adventures in Time and Space, a collection of the best Star Trek literature. Images warchild.jpg|Cover image. warchild art.jpg|Cover art by Keith Birdsong. kriegskind-orig.jpg|German language edition cover image. kriegskind.jpg|German language re-issue edition cover image. bashir-warchild.jpg|Julian Bashir. dax-warchild.jpg|Jadzia Dax. talisCedara.jpg|Talis Cedara. ds9-warchild.jpg|Deep Space 9. bajor-warchild.jpg|Bajor. bajor-kriegskind.jpg|Bajor. Connections Timeline | typea = novel | author = Esther Friesner | formata = novel | beforea = first Star Trek novel | aftera = To Storm Heaven | prevpocket = In the Hands of the Prophets | nextpocket = Valhalla | voyages1 = DS9 | adbefore1 = In the Hands of the Prophets | adafter1 = Valhalla }} External link * category:books category:dS9 novels